Ranma 12: Magi
by Trscroggs
Summary: Ranma and Akane acquire one more gift/curse. And boy, its a dozy! *Currently Discontinued*
1. Prelude

Second fic alert. I didn't create these characters. I am using them without permission and realize that I could get in serious trouble for this. I also realize that I am making no profit on this work, and I don't think being sued is fun.C&C welcomed and encouraged. Flames used by my superhero alter ego.   
  
This story occurs just one month after the Saffron and marriage incidents. Things have begun to return to normal in Nerima, Ranma and Akane are friendlier, but not that much friendlier.  
  
Here it is.  
Version 0.04  
Date Started: 7/21/98  
Last Change: 5/30/01  
  
-------------------------  
Thoughts   
Authors notes and details ()  
Sound FX and some actions**  
Ranma in girl form -chan  
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Things have unusually quiet in Nerima the last couple of days... Ever since Monday morning the usual violence that plagues Nerima has not occurred. By Wednesday the local residents began to wonder what happened to the usual superpowered martial-artists. Of course it happens to be quiet because two of the said superpowered martial-artists, Ranma and Akane, are sick.  
  
Normally this wouldn't have stopped any of Ranma's normal problems from bothering both of them. In fact Ranma's multiple fiancées would be fighting to be the first to 'help' him get better. But even they know when something is more than they can handle.  
  
Both Ranma and Akane came down with their symptoms within an hour of each other. Their symptoms are identical in type and severity, leading both their families to believe the disease is contagious. Both Ranma and Akane have been quarantined in the room Ranma shares with his father (its bigger than Akane's).  
  
Akane was the first to get sick. It began harmlessly enough, just minor joint aches and a headache at breakfast. By lunch the next day she had stomach cramps and was beginning to have difficulty moving. By the time Wednesday was over Akane couldn't even move without pain, and she felt as if every part of her was on fire. Ranma's symptoms began just as he reached school Monday and accelerated until he was as bad as Akane by the end of the school day (helped of course by his fiancées attempts to 'cure' him).Kasumi took one look at the ailing pair and set both to their respective rooms. She then proceeded to dose both liberally with many different painkillers.  
  
But by dinnertime on Wednesday she might not have even bothered. Neither Akane nor Ranma where coherent and Dr. Tofu was summoned to the scene. However just as he was leaving to head to the Tendo's a critical patient appeared that needed immediate attention. By the time Dr. Tofu arrived at the dojo both Akane and Ranma where unconscious.Dr. Tofu had Akane moved into Ranma's room so he could keep a better eye on the two of them and began his examination...  
  
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Ranma 1/2: MagiPrelude: The Sickness  
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Concerned family presently surrounds the door to Ranma's room, where the good doctor had been for the past hour with no contact aside for asking for some water. Just as Soun begins to consider breaking down the door and demanding information Dr. Tofu exists the room, a worried frown upon his face.  
"Dr. Tofu," A worried Kasumi speaks up, interrupting her father's demand for information, "What's wrong with them?"  
"I'm not entirely sure," Tofu replies slowly shaking his head, causing Soun to burst into tears, "I do however have an idea."  
"What?" Genma asks for Soun whose tears are about to cause water damage.  
"My teacher, the one who taught me most of what I know of medicine made mention of something like this. He told me that I ever encountered symptoms like these to call the number of a specialist that works with whatever this is. My teacher told me not to try to treat it myself, but to make the victim as comfortable as possible and call immediately."  
"Do you still have this number?" Nabiki asks.  
Tofu only nods, "At the clinic, I'll be back as soon as I finish calling him."  
  
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In a dark room a phone rings. A hand appears from the darkness and gropes around for a desk light, which creates just enough light for the figure to see the phone in his bedroom.  
"Hello..." The voice is young, male, and obviously still at least half asleep.  
A voice speaks on the other end for a few moments before the figure speaks again, "Sure one minute." Then the hand holding the phone moves away from the figures face and a small tumping sound is heard. When the phone returns to the figure's face his voice is both deeper and older."What can I do for you Dr. Tofu?" The figure's voice is still tired sounding but more alert than before, but before Dr. Tofu finishes describing his problem the figure is sitting upright and is fully awake, "Wait, tell me those symptoms again."  
As Dr. Tofu repeats the symptoms the figure sighs and nods, "I know exactly what's wrong. No, I am coming down to you. It would be better if I handled this myself."  
The figure begins to quickly pack a bag with clothes as he continues to speak to Dr. Tofu, "Listen there are a few things that you can do to make them more comfortable. One put them on the floor, or on a futon with a light cover. Dress them both as lightly as possible, nothing, and I mean nothing skin-tight."  
"Give them both double doses of the strongest pain-killer and muscle-relaxer you have. They're going to start having some seizures shortly. Don't worry about their toungs, I'd get earplugs though, they'll start screaming soon. Yes, screaming. Nothing is as nasty as what your patients have, I would keep their families away from them."  
"Listen, I'm on my way down to you now, but I am going to be about five, six hours getting there. Keep them as comfortable as you can, and don't do anything that I didn't tell you to."The figures hangs up the phone and all but flies out of the room, destination Nerima...  
  
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The sun is rising on the fourth day of Akane and Ranma's illness. The figures predictions have come entirely too true, and the Tendos' are total wreaks. Not one of them has had any sleep since Dr. Tofu called the specialist. By this point all of Nerima knows of the couple's illness and are avoiding the Tendo dojo like a passion. Which makes the figure approaching the dojo standout even more.  
The figure is obviously a ganjin and appears pretty young. He's tall, slightly over six feet,with light brown hair and a light skin tone. He's dressed in American clothing and wears a slightly out-of-style glasses. He has a carry-bag in each hand and is seems to be making a beeline to the front door of dojo.  
Kasumi opens the door to the sight of this young man examining the neighborhood and dojo wall, "Hello, may I help you?"  
The young man quickly examines Kasumi, noting her frazzled appearance and tired voice, "Hello my name is Adkins Thomas, I'm the specialist Dr. Tofu called." Thomas's Japanese is good, but it isn't perfect, like he hasn't used it in a long time."  
Kasumi smiles, but her skepticism shows in her voice, "We where expecting someone...older."  
Thomas smiles the smile of someone that knows something, "Don't worry, I'm older than I look. I am ready to see the patients whenever you are ready."  
"Follow me."  
Kasumi leads Thomas up to Ranma's room. Once there he shoos out the families and looks over the Akane himself.  
After looking over Ranma he sits up and sighs once, "You were right in calling me Dr. Tofu, it's what I thought it was. Magi Sickness." Thomas sighs again and rubs his eyes with a free hand, "They'll be fine by this afternoon at latest. Well, that or dead. Or at least as fine as they'll ever be again."  
Tofu just looks at Thomas with questions in his eyes.  
"Magi Sickness is a non-contagious disease caused by an unknown source. Everyone effected by it stays very sick for four days, then recover...with side effects. That or their hearts will stop at the end of the fifth day, but that's rare."  
"Side-effects?"  
"Well, they aren't really human anymore..."  
  
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End Prologue  
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The name Adkins Thomas is a temporary name while I try to come up with a better one (or resist the temptation to add myself).  
I am partial to the name Thomas after all.   
This is more or less a test, if I get enough responses I will continue this series. If not it will probably go bye-bye.  
Don't worry, I clean up all the mysteries by chapter two at the latest. 


	2. Chapter 1

Second fic alert. I didn't create these characters.   
  
I am using them without permission and realize that I could get in serious   
trouble for this. I also realize that I am making no profit on this work,   
and I don't think being sued is fun.  
  
C&C welcomed and encouraged. Flames used by my superhero alter ego to   
defend the defenseless.  
  
This story occurs just one month after the Saffron and marriage incidents.   
Things have begun to return to normal in Nerima, Ranma and Akane are   
friendlier, but not that much friendlier.  
  
If you want to find out what happened in the previous part please go read the  
proluge.  
  
Here it is.  
Version 0.10  
Date Started: 7/24/98  
Last Change: 5/30/01  
  
-------------------------  
Thoughts   
Authors notes and details ()  
Sound FX and some actions**  
Ranma in girl form -chan  
-------------------------  
  
Tofu takes a quiet moment to gather his thoughts and ask the most obvious question, "What do you mean not human?"  
Thomas pauses for a moment before answering, "Well do you want the long or short explination?"  
"Which ever is the most understandable."  
  
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"Ok," Thomas begins, after settling down in a more comforatable position, "I've got to ask one question before we start. Do you belive in magic?"  
Tofu laughs, "Living around Ranma you loss any disbelif of magic rather quickly."  
Thomas smirks and nods, "Good, then this will be much easier."  
"There are many sources of magicical power in the world. Two of the most common are mages and magi."  
"Aren't they the same thing," Tofu asks.  
Thomas gives a single short snort, "That kind ofthing could get you seriously injured."  
"Why?" Now Tofu is confused.  
"Because they couldn't be more differnet."  
"Mages are almost aways born with their power, it usually becomes completly active around puberty. Other than their magic power, no other bodyly changes occur to them. All they have is their magic."  
"Magi are vastly differnet. While a mage has a great deal of flexablity in what they can do a magi is more limited. They can only work in one category, like healing or attack powers. Magi aren't born into their powers either, they are born as normal humans, and if exsposed to the right circomstanses they will develop something called Magi Sickness."  
A sudden and not all together pleasant thougth occurs to Tofu, "That's what is wrong with Akane and Ranma isn't it?"  
A sad nod is his only answer, "It's very unusual, there is only usually one new magi a genreation, and they are also usually European."  
"So what does this mean to them?"  
"Either a very long life...or a very short one."  
Tofu's face shows his confusion.  
" *Sigh* mages and magi usually don't get along, many mages will try to kill any magi they find. Otherwise they will quiet likely out-live your great-great grandchildren."  
"Why do mages fight magi?"  
"Many mages are jelous of magi. You see while mages can become more powerful and longer-lived than a magi it takes a LOT of work. Magi are intially more powerful, longer lived, and they will always be more powerful physically."  
"You see all these seizures are a sign of the changes going on throughout their bodies. The postitions of their muscle anchors are changing, along with the shape of their skeltons. These and other changes add up to a body that is MUCH stronger and more durable than any humans'. Coupeled with a faster, more effective healing system it is very difficult to kill a magi. Add in their, our, powers and all but the most powerful of mages can't even touch us."  
Pausing for a second the young man shudders violently. "And there's the last thing, any mage with any real knowledge can steal power from us in the form of strength and lifespan. A greedy mage will kill a magi just to add another two hundred years to threir own lives."  
"Us?"  
Thomas nods, "I'm a magi, I have powers that can aid a traveler or wanderer. That's how I got here so fast, I flew. I am also over one hundred and twenty years old."  
Tofu looks at Thomas closely, "Somehow I doubt it."  
"Magi can live a very long time. The oldest recorded magi was killed just before she turned nineteen hundred. Therotically you could add two thousand to a magi's age when they get over the Sickness."  
"Two..two THOUSAND!" To say Tofu is shocked is a bit of an understatment, "Ranma nad Akane could live that long?"  
Thomas nods, "If they use their new powers wisely and avoid too serious an injury they can easily live to be over a thousand."  
"WHAT!" Both Akane and Ranma yell in unison."  
  
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"How long have you two been awake," Tofu asks them, "And how much did you hear?"  
Thomas laughs slightly, "My guess they heard almost all of it."  
Akane looks at Thomas with something akin to fury and fear in her eyes, "How much of all that is true? The mages and magi, their powers and...the long life?"  
Ranma also looks at Thomas with dislike and distrust, "And are we really magi now?"  
"The answer to all of the above," Thomas begins,"Yes. Don't ask me why, in the eight thousand years of recorded magi history no one has even thought up a belivable theory on why magi or mages exist at all."  
"Magi have been around that long?" Tofu asks, trying to dispel some of the tension, "How did you stay out of the history books? I mean surely somebody noticed you."  
Thomas grined, "It certainly hasn't been easy, or so I've been told. Mostly we, both mages and magi, try to stay out of the limelight. In the ancient past we could act with greater impunity. With no means of mass information transfer it was easy to pack up and move to another location if anyone noticed. Back then we played lots of minor roles in the course of history, sort of unnoticed, but vital secondary charecters. Until the invention of international computer networks we could still move around whenever our powers where noticed, but now, it takes massive amount of money to remain unnoticed for long, that or lots and lots of work."  
"And if we're not intresetd?" Ranma asks.  
Thomas smirks again, "Well to being magi you have no choice, you've finished changing and the process is one way. To whever you keep your new status secret from family and friends is you choice. But we, both mages and magi, would rather keep our long lives and powers out of general public knowledge."  
"Why?" Ranma asks, being stuborn.  
"Do you want to be hunted down? Or worse, be a science experiment?"  
"No," Ranma replies looking down.  
Thomas is about to make another comment when Akane interupts,   
"Will we age at all?" Much to Dr. Tofu's agreement.  
"Your physical appearace will age at a slow pace. Most people gain one year in apparent age for every twenty to fiftey years they actually live. I do know someone that is over fiften hundred that doesn't look to be over ten though, so it varies."Both Akane and Ranma get distressed looks on their faces, though Akane's is worse.  
"Is there a way to tell?" She asks.  
Thomas shakes his head, "No, neither the aging rate or your powers can be guessed before you find out the hard way. And powers seem to be completely random, so you can't even give an educated guess on them."  
"Listen," He continues, "I'm going to be staying in this area for a while. Mostly to watch after you two. I'll drop by sometime tommorrow and tell you where I'm staying. But for now I'm going to leave you two alone, you have some decisions to make."  
"We don't need, to be taken care of, where not little kids," Akane protests.  
Thomas just laughs and looks over his shoulder as he steps out of the room, "You are to me." Dr. Tofu follows him out, also agreeing to check on them tommorrow.  
  
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As soon as both Dr. Tofu and Thomas are out of Ranma's room Akane puts her head into her hands and cries."What's wrong Akane?" Ranma has a good guess what Akane is crying about, but he can't stop the question from coming out. Not that he wasn't upset himself.  
"You...You, BAKA! It should be obvious. I'm going to have to watch my dad, my friends, and my sisters grow old and die, while I don't age a day. And if that guy was telling the truth I'm going to be doing it again and again for hundreds, maybe thousands of years."  
Ranma just snorts, "I knew that you stupid tomboy, but if you have figured it out yet this also means we'll be dodging challengers for a long time too...A really long time."Akane just looks at Ranma and rises unsteadly to her feet, at the same time her battle aura kicks in. Unnoticed by either a white glow also begins to form around her hands.  
"Is that all you can think about?" Akane asks, he voice low and dangerous, "You don't care about your freinds, your family?"  
Ranma just laughs biterly, "What friends? And as for my family, well I already knew I was going to outlive them. Think about it, the old ghoul and that little dried up pervert are hundreds of years old. I've trained under both of them, and probably will be trained again before they die. So if they're that old than I'll proably end up that old too."  
Akane considers the last statement first and her battle aura dies down a little, but the glow remains, as she considers his first statement, "You've got friends. What about Ryouga?"  
"Sure...He's better, but he still trys to kill or pound me at everytime he thinks I did something wrong, even if it ain't my fault."  
"Mousse?"  
"Still wants to get rid of me for Shampoo."  
"Ukyou?"  
"She thinks of me as a fiance first, friend second."  
"Those two guys at school?"  
"*Snort* They just want to know how far I've gotten with you. That and they hope my *snort* 'luck' with girls will rub off on them."  
Akane listens to Ranma's bitter voice and the glow around her hands fades away, "Me?"  
Ranma just looks at Akane and looks away without a word.  
Akane looks down at her feet for a moment then sits quietly back down, "We can't tell them. At least not yet"  
"Why not?"  
This time Akane is the one to laught bitterly, "Try to imagine what they'll do if they find out. My dad will cry for days, Nabiki will sell it to the highest bidder, and Kasumi will just go 'oh my'."  
This time Ranma's laugh is very real, "Not only that, but as soon as both our dads find out they'll try to marry immediatly us. I bet they'll say something like 'she's perfect for you boy, she'll live as long as you will'. Or something like that."  
In a voice so quiet that Ranma can barely hear it Akane asks, "Would that be so bad?"  
"I ain't answering that."  
Akane flares in anger, and they white glow appears again, "And why not baka?"  
Ranma for once is not concered about Akane's anger, looking her straight in the eye he says in a completly calm voice, "Look in a mirror."  
Caught off-gaurd by his frankness Akane can only stare.  
"I mean look at yourself," Ranma continues on unaware or uncaring of Akane's mood, "One little sentence and there you go blazing away. If I say one thing I'll be married before nightfall, no matter what I really want. I say something else and you pound me flat. Your always blaming for stuff that ain't my fault. Ukyou, Shampoo, Kodachi, the engagment, your suitors, my rivals, they ain't my fault." Ranma pauses for a second and continues, "If there's anymore, could you tell me? Then I can tell you they ain't my fault either?"  
Akane's anger completely collapses in on itself and all she can do is stare dumbly at him for a moment, "Ran...Ranma?"  
"Surprised?"  
Akane nods, once.  
"*Humph* I wouldn't even be alive if I didn't have some brains Akane, I got so many people after me that I also have to be some sort of fortune-teller to guess who'll be after me next. If I couldn't at least guess what's happening around me somebody would have killed me long ago."  
"But why haven't you ever talked like this before?"  
"Let's see, pops, your dad, the old ghoul, Ryouga, should I go on? Look Akane, I ain't a guinus or nothing, I just see a little more than anyone thinks I do, like your sister."  
"Nabiki?"  
"Nah, Kasumi. She's smarter than she lets on, she saw through me in a heartbeat. If she weren't already chasing someone she'd probably have would have tried to marry me or something by now."  
"Dr. Tofu," Akane says with confidence. Ranma just looks at her funny, like she just said something weird. "Well isn't she?"  
"Nah, Dr. Tofu didn't stand a chance. He maybe be smart, but he acts like a fool when Kasumi's around. You think she'd want a guy like that? If that was true Shampoo would've married Mousse years ago."  
"Come to think of it Ranma," Akane grins evily at him, "What DO you want?"  
"I don't know. But it ain't Shampoo or Kodachi or even Ukyou. It might not even be you. How can you ask me what I want when everytime I turn around something turns my life upside down?"  
Akane couldn't find an answer to that.  
  
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"Will they be ok?" Dr. Tofu asked the apparently young man next to him.  
Thomas shruged, "Probably, I haven't heard of anyone who didn't adapt, given enough time."  
"Are you really a doctor?"  
Thomas laughed and smiled at Dr. Tofu, "Yes I really am a medical doctor, even thougth the name on the certifacate isn't mine. And before you ask I'm in Japan to learn more about eastern medince. I met your instructor while he was studing western medicene."  
"What's it like," Dr. Tofu found himself asking, "I mean what is it like to be a Magi?"  
"Its not that different than being part of a big family, almost all Magi are pretty close and we gather together to have a party every five years or so. As for my powers, they aren't much. Many of us have much more intrusive ablities, but mine almost never act up on me."  
"What about the aging?"  
A shrug proceded the answer, "I'm not old enough to really have an opinion yet. When I was younger I was never really close to anyone, and now that I am a Magi, most of my friends are other Magi anyway."  
"Is there anything I can do to help?"  
Thomas pauses in thought for a moment before replying. "The thing they need most is allies, people to be on the lookout for mages and other magi. Unfortuantly the skills necessary to steal a magi's powers can be duplicated by anyone. So every powermad nut in the hemisphere are going to be after them."  
Tofu nods once, "And how long will they need this babysitting?"  
"No more than a decade or two, by then most magi's can only be taken by mages. Of course if your friends are fast learners and lucky they could be safe in just a year or two."  



End file.
